Darbhanga (Bihar): On the evening of May 31, 2025, Darbhanga deputy mayor Nazia Hasan was attacked, allegedly by supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, at the municipal complex of the town.
It is not just the lead up to it that is interesting – Hasan had posted on Facebook against ideological extremism – but also what followed, which offers a picture into how violence against Muslims is a pattern in this country.
Who is Hasan?
Hasan, the vice-president of the Bihar Congress Minority Wing, is a mother of three.
Hasan has been a primary school teacher and notably she performs the ritualistic bath given to deceased Muslim women, a service she continued even during COVID-19 and now. A social worker, she was vocal during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Her solo campaign for the deputy mayor’s position won her over 34,000 votes – more than the mayor Anjum Ara – on a shoestring budget of around Rs 60,000 and without counting agents.
She is also an active member of the predominantly Maithil Brahmin Mithila Vikas Sangh.
The attack and its aftermath
According to the first information report filed by Darbhanga Town police, based on Hasan’s complaint, a mob of over a hundred, allegedly led by district BJP president Aditya Narayan Manna and district general secretary Balendu Jha, stormed the Darbhanga Municipal Corporation complex at around 5 pm on May 31. Hasan alleged that the leaders verbally abused her.
The alleged reason behind the attack was a Facebook post made by Hasan, which said: “We hate Pakistan as much as we hate the RSS because both have historically supported the two-nation theory.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.